Present Tense (A Parker & Coe, Love and Bullets Thriller Book 2) by Alana Matthews Page A
Authors: Alana Matthews
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his gaze to me. "What?"
"Wilky told me you broke your collarbone. Shouldn't you be wearing some kind of brace?"
Elmo frowned. "I broke my collarbone when I was ten years old. The brace came off a long time ago. Kinda doubt it would even fit at this point."
"So then why didn't you do the prisoner transport job? The one to L.A.?"
"I don't know anything about that. I just do what Wilky tells me."
"Do you watch the news?" Parker asked.
"Not if I can help it. What's that got to do with anything?"
"If you did, you'd know there was a plane crash in Houston National Forest—Wilky's chartered transport plane. The flight you were supposed to be on went down before it was barely off the ground, and Kelsey was the one who took your place."
"Because you had a broken collarbone," I said.
Elmo squinted at me. "You were in a plane crash?"
"Almost," I told him. "The prisoner and I were lucky enough to find a parachute before it was too late. But now I'm curious to know why Wilky would tell me you were injured when you clearly aren't."
"Kinda makes you think that plane crash was planned," Parker said.
"Which means Wilky is a murderer."
Elmo looked dumbfounded. He had no clue what we were talking about. But before he could respond, a voice called out from inside the house—
—"No! No! You've got it wrong. You've got it all wrong."—
—and the front door flew open, Wilky stepping into the light.
"I didn't kill anyone. That plane was not supposed to go down. That wasn't part of anyone's plan."
"Then why call me?" I asked. "Why pretend Elmo was injured?"
Wilky looked at us both, then sighed. "Why don't y'all come on inside. I need some coffee for this."
TWENTY-FOUR
We sat at an island about the size of a pool table. Wilky's kitchen looked like something straight off HGTV and I was surprised he didn't have a personal assistant to serve us our coffee.
Instead, he took the cups from a glass encased cupboard himself and drew shots from a fancy one-button espresso machine that took up half a counter.
For a moment there I wanted to scream at him to hurry it up, a man's life was in danger, but I didn't think we'd get much cooperation that way.
Maybe I was learning.
"You folks have to understand," he said as he set cups in front of me and Parker. "I was as shocked by Hap's death as you were, and I certainly didn't want Ms. Coe to find herself in trouble. I thought this would be a fairly straightforward transport job."
I sipped my coffee, thankful to have a jolt of caffeine after a night of no sleep. "Then why send me instead of Elmo?"
Elmo stood near the kitchen doorway, holding his weapon in the crook of his arm. I wasn't sure what he thought we might do with these lethal coffee cups in our hands, but he was vigilant, I'd give him that.
"I was being torn a couple different ways," Wilky said. "I'd made a promise that I'd deliver the prisoner, and I like to think I'm a man of my word."
"To the cooperating agency you told me about? The one in L.A.?"
He nodded. "A-1 Bail Bonds. They've thrown a lot of business my way, which is one of the reasons I can afford to live in a place like this."
This was our cue to look around and marvel, but neither of us took our eyes off Wilky. "So where do Cat Eater and his crew come in?"
"Who?"
"The men who took Rider," Parker said. "And don't tell me you don't know anything about them."
A flicker of fear passed through Wilky's eyes and his usual effortless self-confidence momentarily receded. "His name is Jim Scaffe, and he's not somebody you want to get in bed with, if you can help it. But sometimes you don't have any choice, because he won't hesitate to hurt you—or anyone in your family—to get what he wants."
"Did he threaten you?" Parker asked.
"He never outright threatens anyone. But if he asks you how your daughter's gettin' along up in Dallas, you can be damn sure it ain't idle chatter."
"So he told you they were planning an intercept in L.A. and wanted you to make sure
"Wilky told me you broke your collarbone. Shouldn't you be wearing some kind of brace?"
Elmo frowned. "I broke my collarbone when I was ten years old. The brace came off a long time ago. Kinda doubt it would even fit at this point."
"So then why didn't you do the prisoner transport job? The one to L.A.?"
"I don't know anything about that. I just do what Wilky tells me."
"Do you watch the news?" Parker asked.
"Not if I can help it. What's that got to do with anything?"
"If you did, you'd know there was a plane crash in Houston National Forest—Wilky's chartered transport plane. The flight you were supposed to be on went down before it was barely off the ground, and Kelsey was the one who took your place."
"Because you had a broken collarbone," I said.
Elmo squinted at me. "You were in a plane crash?"
"Almost," I told him. "The prisoner and I were lucky enough to find a parachute before it was too late. But now I'm curious to know why Wilky would tell me you were injured when you clearly aren't."
"Kinda makes you think that plane crash was planned," Parker said.
"Which means Wilky is a murderer."
Elmo looked dumbfounded. He had no clue what we were talking about. But before he could respond, a voice called out from inside the house—
—"No! No! You've got it wrong. You've got it all wrong."—
—and the front door flew open, Wilky stepping into the light.
"I didn't kill anyone. That plane was not supposed to go down. That wasn't part of anyone's plan."
"Then why call me?" I asked. "Why pretend Elmo was injured?"
Wilky looked at us both, then sighed. "Why don't y'all come on inside. I need some coffee for this."
TWENTY-FOUR
We sat at an island about the size of a pool table. Wilky's kitchen looked like something straight off HGTV and I was surprised he didn't have a personal assistant to serve us our coffee.
Instead, he took the cups from a glass encased cupboard himself and drew shots from a fancy one-button espresso machine that took up half a counter.
For a moment there I wanted to scream at him to hurry it up, a man's life was in danger, but I didn't think we'd get much cooperation that way.
Maybe I was learning.
"You folks have to understand," he said as he set cups in front of me and Parker. "I was as shocked by Hap's death as you were, and I certainly didn't want Ms. Coe to find herself in trouble. I thought this would be a fairly straightforward transport job."
I sipped my coffee, thankful to have a jolt of caffeine after a night of no sleep. "Then why send me instead of Elmo?"
Elmo stood near the kitchen doorway, holding his weapon in the crook of his arm. I wasn't sure what he thought we might do with these lethal coffee cups in our hands, but he was vigilant, I'd give him that.
"I was being torn a couple different ways," Wilky said. "I'd made a promise that I'd deliver the prisoner, and I like to think I'm a man of my word."
"To the cooperating agency you told me about? The one in L.A.?"
He nodded. "A-1 Bail Bonds. They've thrown a lot of business my way, which is one of the reasons I can afford to live in a place like this."
This was our cue to look around and marvel, but neither of us took our eyes off Wilky. "So where do Cat Eater and his crew come in?"
"Who?"
"The men who took Rider," Parker said. "And don't tell me you don't know anything about them."
A flicker of fear passed through Wilky's eyes and his usual effortless self-confidence momentarily receded. "His name is Jim Scaffe, and he's not somebody you want to get in bed with, if you can help it. But sometimes you don't have any choice, because he won't hesitate to hurt you—or anyone in your family—to get what he wants."
"Did he threaten you?" Parker asked.
"He never outright threatens anyone. But if he asks you how your daughter's gettin' along up in Dallas, you can be damn sure it ain't idle chatter."
"So he told you they were planning an intercept in L.A. and wanted you to make sure
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